Thursday, March 31, 2011

Morning Coffee with the Man in the Yellow Suit

For this addition of morning coffee, we are delving into the wonderful world of the BC Superfan. About this time last year, a certain Superfan created some waves in the BC blogging community by wearing a yellow body suit to all of the home games. We think that's pretty cool and so I scribbled down his name when BC inadvertently announced it at a basketball game and he later agreed to do an interview with us.

Without further ado, I give you the man in the yellow suit!

Make the jump!

Thanks so much for sitting down with us today yellow man. I know you are probably loving a little free time now that the major sports seasons are over, although maybe we'll see you over at a baseball game now and again. Let's get to it. What year are you and what do you study at BC?

I'm a sophomore English major with a secondary education minor

What possessed you to begin dressing up in a yellow suit?

The whole yellow suit thing started when my friend Chris and I decided that BC Superfans needed to be a bit better. We figured we could inject a little more energy into the student section by being ridiculous and wearing these suits. We got the idea from "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" and we ran with it. We started after winter break last year at basketball games, then started going to hockey games. Chris ended up becoming a manager for the basketball team, which is why I'm the only one now, but this past fall I started going to the football games in the suit and that was when the whole thing really took off.

What has the fan reaction been like?

The fan reaction has been almost completely positive. Everyone seems to like my dance moves and my enthusiasm. People always come up and ask for pictures or just say hello, some little kids have even asked for an autograph which was pretty funny. There have been a few haters, but not too many. I don't really know why they don't like me, but it's cool, maybe I'm annoying.

Have you had any interactions with the players?

I've had a lot of interaction with players. The hockey guys seemed to take the most immediate liking to my presence at the games, but every other athlete I've talked to seems to support me. I think that Coach Spaz has been the most outwardly appreciative; he comes over and says hello at basketball games and encourages me to keep doing what I'm doing. It's really cool to know that coaches and players appreciate the support.

Any problems with the athletic department not wanting to admit masked men?

I haven't had any problems with the actual athletic department. Gene DeFillipo even approached me once at a game telling me how glad he is to see this type of support. The main problems have been with Team Ops, the security company at the games. At first they restricted a lot of where I could go around the stadiums, but eventually they warmed up to me. I think we have a mutual understanding that I know they're just doing their job and they know I'm just having fun. They have the final say though... I have yet to be kicked out of a game, so that's good.

Do you have a rivalry with Reggie's Veggies? Give us your expert opinion on their costumes.

I have absolutely no rivalry with Reggie's Veggies. I love Reggie's Veggies, they're some great guys and I always like to go talk to them about the game during timeouts. There's no competition between us, the important thing is that we're all out there supporting the team. I think their costumes are awesome, I'm pretty jealous that they don't have to dance around all that much... it's really tiring to be honest.

Who is you favorite BC player to cheer for?

I'm going to have to say that currently John Cahill is my favorite player to cheer for. I definitely get the most excited when he grabs a loose ball or hits a clutch three. I obviously love Reggie Jackson too, but Cahill's story really makes the fans want to get behind him. Don't get me wrong, I love hockey and football too, but basketball has been my favorite sport for years, so naturally my favorite players are on the basketball team. Andre Williams is making moves though, he's fun to watch.

How many people know your identity? Do you try to keep it secret or is it one of the worst kept secrets on campus?

I have literally no idea how many people know my identity. I sometimes wish I had kept my identity secret, but this has really been the worst kept secret ever. At this point I don't even try to keep it a secret... besides I'm just an attention whore (can i say that?)

Yes, that will make it to the website. Any chance this becomes a fad? It would be pretty awesome to see 100 or so Superfans showing up in yellow body suits on gameday. It would definitely give BC something unique.

I don't know if it will become a fad, that would be pretty crazy if it did. I'd feel bad for the Superfan shirt sales though. I wouldn't mind being one of many though, it would take a lot of pressure off of me to come with energy and dance moves, but I still enjoy doing it every game despite the expectations.

Last one! Give us one nerdy fact about yourself that very few people know (besides the fact that you dress up in a yellow suit).

A lot of people know this, but I can't swim... I never learned how to.

Thanks so much for the interview! Hope to see you at more BC games in the future.